Ashamed of Our False Rescues

26          “As a thief is shamed when caught,
so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
                        they, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets,
            27          who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
                        For they have turned their back to me,
and not their face.
                        But in the time of their trouble they say,
‘Arise and save us!’
            28          But where are your gods
that you made for yourself?
                        Let them arise, if they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
                        for as many as your cities
are your gods, O Judah.
Jeremiah 2:26-28
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Ashamed of Our False Rescues
Jeremiah exposes a familiar pattern: God’s people run from Him when things are comfortable and then cry out to Him when trouble comes. Israel’s shame is not merely embarrassment but the exposure of misplaced trust. They had crafted gods that could neither speak nor save, yet expected rescue when disaster struck. That accusation lands close to home. We, too, fashion our own deliverers: success, politics, money, even our own piety. These idols promise control but abandon us the moment suffering arrives. When they fail, we finally turn and ask the Lord to arise. Here the Law cuts deep, but it does not have the last word. God does arise, not because our repentance is pure, but because Christ has already borne our shame. At the cross, Jesus stands in the place of idolaters, absorbing judgment and giving mercy. There, our false gods are exposed, and our true Savior is revealed.